One Summer Vacation
by Jedi Jelsa777
Summary: At seven years old, Lucy never thought that her life could be happier and fate seemed to prove her right. She lost her mother and her life would never be the same again. A year later she was sent away to boarding school, her father never allowing her to come home. Now seventeen, she is determined to spend a summer vacation with her friends, but how long will the secret last?
1. Chapter 1

Seven year old Lucy Heartfilia giggled as she chased her friend, Natsu Dragneel. They were playing a game of tag with several of their other friends, but Natsu always let Lucy tag him. She wasn't as fast as the rest of them and so he would always take pity on her and let her get him, though he tried not to make it obvious. There other three friends, Erza Scarlet, Jellal Fernandez and Gray Fullbuster, stood back, watching the pair with grins on their faces. None of them had any way of knowing that this would be the last time they saw Lucy so carefree.

XXX

Natsu started from his sleep, hearing a light, constant banging on his window. Yawning, he made his way to it and he could make out the shape of Lucy. Opening his window, he said "Luce, what are you…" "Natsu!" she cried before flinging herself into his arms, bringing him fully awake as she sobbed into his chest. "Luce, what's wrong?" Natsu asked in alarm, but his young friend just kept sobbing. Natsu heard a noise at his door and turned his head enough to see Igneel and Grandeeney standing in it. Neither adult moved to enter, but he could tell by their faces they knew what was wrong with Lucy.

In fact, the Heartfilia butler, Caprico, had called and informed them that young Lucy's mother had died in a car accident on the way home from a charity event. He had also told them that young Lucy had gone missing and he thought she would run to her best friend for comfort so he asked them to check and see so he knew that she was alright. Lucy could spend the night with them, if that was okay with them, which it was.

Seeing that Natsu was doing his best to calm the girl, Igneel went to tell Caprico she was okay, moving away from the door so Lucy wouldn't hear them. Grandeeney too left the door, going to prepare a bed for Lucy in the guest room. Natsu, seeing them leave, turned his full attention back to Lucy, who was starting to stutter out what was wrong. "My… my… mommy… i. dead." Lucy wailed, causing Natsu to tighten his grip around her, tears of his own starting to fall. He hurt for his friend, he couldn't imagine a life without his mom in it and to think it was happening to his friend…

Suddenly, Lucy's legs wouldn't hold her up anymore and so Natsu helped her gently collapse to the ground, pulling her into his lap once they reached it and trying to hold her together with a fierce hug. He hated to see Lucy cry, hated that she was hurting. He wished that he could fix it, but this wasn't like the times he beat up bullies for her or was able to give her his candy when she dropped hers on the ground. There was no way to fix this and that broke his heart.

XXX

**One Year Later**

A sad faced Lucy was the new normal, her light seeming to have been extinguished the night her mom died. She heard a knock on her window a minute before Natsu entered it. "Is it true? Are you really leaving Lucy?" Natsu asked, sadness in his voice. Lucy nodded and said "Dad is sending me away to boarding school." "Will you be back for breaks?" Natsu asked, sadness in his tone. Lucy shook her head and said "No, I'll be staying with one set of grandparents each time." Natsu was taken aback, and he exclaimed without thinking "Will I ever see you again?"

Tears rolled down Lucy cheeks as she declared "I don't know. Daddy doesn't want me here anymore." With that she collapsed into a sobbing fit, one which Natsu tried to pull her out of by coming up to hug her, saying "Hey maybe I can visit you." "It's an all-girl school Natsu." Lucy whispered through her tears and sobs, to which he replied "Well what about when you are at your grandparents?" Lucy shrugged as she said "I don't even know where they live."

Natsu sighed before asking, "When are you going to leave?" "Tomorrow." Lucy said softly. "Then come play with me and the others today!" Natsu stated. Lucy shook her head and said "I have to pack. Please Natsu, this is hard enough as it is." Natsu hung his head and sighed, giving her one final hug before leaving through the window without another word. He returned an hour later with the others, earning a small smile from Lucy when he declared "We'll help you pack!"

Hours later, as her friends were leaving, Natsu reached into his pocket and pulled out a keychain with a strange symbol on it. Lucy looked at him with confusion, asking "What does this mean?" "The man who sold it to me says it's a fairy with a tail." "But fairies don't have tails… do they?" Lucy asked. "Don't know, guess you'll have to come back someday and we'll go searching for ourselves to find out." Lucy gave him one of her old smiles as she said "I'd like that."

Natsu gave her a hug before following the other kids out, planning on seeing her off tomorrow. But he woke up too late to say one more goodbye. Lucy looked out the window of her family's limo, watching all she knew fade away from view quickly. In her lap she had the keychain Natsu had given her and a paper crown, the last one her mother had made for her. They were her two most important treasures, ones she would do her best to take care of. Looking at the keychain, she wondered if she would ever get to go looking for fairies with Natsu.

XXX

**Four years later**

Twelve year old Lucy sighed, looking out the window of her classroom. Every day was the same, from the outfits she and her classmates had to wear to the classes she took. Granted the food changed each day, but she knew next week on the same day she would be eating the same thing. She looked at the keychain attached to her backpack, a small smile making its way to her face. It was getting a little scuffed with use, but it was holding up well. She wondered what her old friend was up to. Suddenly she heard her name being shouted by one of the teachers.

"Miss Heartfilia, if you are done day dreaming, would you like to come up to the board and solve this problem?" Lucy flushed and said "Yes ma'am." Standing up, she walked up to the board. The two friends she had made since coming to this school, Yukino and Levy gave her sympathetic looks. They needn't have worried, for while Lucy hadn't been paying attention, her studies came easy to her and she was able to solve it easily.

XXX

Natsu had all he could to do to keep from sighing, school was hard for him, his ADHD made it difficult to keep still for so long. The only class he liked was PE because they were almost always moving in it. He thought about his friend Lucy and wondered how she was doing. She wrote him a letter every month and he tried to be faithful in replying, but it wasn't the same. Her school forbade students from having phones and computers of their own, their online activity being limited to research on the library computers, so letters were all they had. When would Lucy be back?

XXX

**Five years later**

Lucy couldn't take this stupid school another day! She was seventeen now and it felt like all she did was study. Even her good friends, Levy and Yukino, had been allowed to go home and attend regular school once they reached high school age. Lucy hadn't been able to make any new friends since then, not that she had really tried. She smiled as she opened her mailbox, finding a rare letter from Natsu in it. Honestly she was surprised he was still keeping up with replying to her once a month, only having ever missed one month when he had been so sick and then having to catch up with all the schoolwork he missed.

Opening she smiled to hear how all of her friends were doing, Natsu being her only connection to any of them, though they all sent their own messages of hello to her via him, just as she sent hers through Natsu to them. "We miss you Luce, it's hard to believe it's almost been ten years since we've seen you, I never thought you would be gone this long when you left all those years ago. Please tell me you're coming back here when you get done with school!"

Lucy sighed. She missed the weirdo, she missed them all. Tears fell, a few hitting the paper of the letter, which she quickly patted dry to keep it from smearing the words that she held so dear. Once that was done, she folded the letter back up and put it in its envelope, slipping it into the box that she kept all her letters from Natsu in. She had a few from Levy and Yukino in there too, but they were mainly his. A look of determination filled her eyes. She would see Natsu and the others again!

XXX

Natsu sighed as he leaned back in his bed. "Finally summer vacation Happy." He said to his blue cat. Happy was a rescue, his fur having been permanently dyed by a terrible breeder via an injection, much like some chicks were colored for Easter. People had found his coloring off putting, but Natsu found him unique. His friend Lisanna had said he was like a bluebird of happiness and that was how Natsu had gotten his name. Happy purred, rubbing his head against Natsu's outstretched hand, earning a smile from the boy.

Suddenly, his windows swung open without any warning. Natsu bolted upright on his bed in fright, staring at the windows as a head peaked in. At the sight of blond hair, his hear nearly stopped. Could it be? He got his answer as the rest of his friend pulled herself into his window. Seeing him, she smiled and softly said "Hey Natsu, long time no see." Natsu stared at her, before exclaiming "Lucy!"


	2. Chapter 2

After staring at his friend for a minute, he asked "What are you doing here? I mean not that I'm not happy to see you, but aren't you supposed to be at that boarding school?" Lucy shook her head as she took a step closer to him, answering "I'm on summer vacation. Natsu, I need your help." "Anything Luce!" "First off, how is the old clubhouse holding up?" Lucy asked. Natsu looked confused, but he answered, "It's doing fine, might need a bit of work after this past winter, but nothing too major, why?"

"I'm going to spend the summer there." Lucy said simply. Natsu looked confused as he asked "Why would you do that?" Lucy sighed and said "That's where the 'I need your help' comes in. My dad doesn't know I'm back in town and both set of my grandparents think I'm spending the summer with the other set." Still confused, Natsu asked "Why Luce?" "Because I told them that! I'm mean I love them, don't get me wrong, but I missed Magnolia, I missed all of my friends, I missed you!" Lucy proclaimed, "So I decided to do something about it."

"How did you get here? Please tell me you didn't hitchhike!" Natsu questioned. "No, I had an old school friend pick me up. She might visit a few times this summer, but she'll also take me back at the end of the summer." Natsu finally grinned and stepped forward to give her a hug before saying "It's so good to finally see you again. The letters were great, but…" "I know." Lucy said, as she nestled into the hug, "This is better." Natsu felt tears dampening his shirt, so he pulled back enough so he could see her face as he asked "Luce, what's wrong?"

Lucy brushed her tears aside, though new ones fell to take their places, and said "It's been awhile since I've had a hug, I've really needed one." Natsu pulled her into a tighter hug at those words, unshed tears filling his eyes for his friend's deeply hurting soul. They stayed like this for a while, before Lucy took a deep breath and said "Come on, let's go check out the clubhouse. Remember, you have to keep my being here a secret from your parents. They would just tell my dad and he would send me off right away."

"What if they come in right now?" Natsu asked worriedly, but Lucy shook her head and said "I watched and waited until your family drove off, you and Happy are the only ones here. Speaking of Happy, it's so nice to finally see the little guy in person!" Lucy said, as she sank to her knees to scratch Happy's chin, earning a purr from the cat. When she looked up, Natsu had a teasing smirk on his face. "What?" she asked, to which he replied "Lucy, have you been stalking me?" Lucy laughed before simply replying "Maybe."

After a few more chin scratches for Happy, the two climbed out of Natsu's window, heading for their old clubhouse. "Does anyone come out here?" Lucy asked as they made their way there. Natsu shrugged and said "We all usually come out a couple of times a year, I can keep the others away if you don't want them to know." "No, I want to see everyone, I just don't want to see any of the parents who would call my dad." Lucy said, smiling sadly.

Natsu grinned and said "In that case, I'll have them come out to help patch things up and you can be a surprise." Lucy giggled and said "Sounds like fun." When they got to the clubhouse, Lucy pulled a notebook from the backpack that she had picked up from where she had placed it outside of Natsu's window. Natsu caught sight of the keychain and grinned, saying "Maybe we could hunt for fairies while your home." Lucy turned to him, happy tears in her eyes as she said "That would be great. For now though, let's make a list of things that needs to be done here."

XXX

Natsu walked into town, stopping for a minute to text in the group chat, "Who feels like helping me patch up the old clubhouse today?" Shortly there were messages of okay and yes, so he told them to meet him to help pick up supplies. "So Natsu, what made you decide to fix up the clubhouse today?" asked Gray once they had met up with him. "Well it's the first day of summer vacation and I thought who knows when we might want to use it, so I figured we should do it now." The clubhouse was actually a small house that was out behind Natsu's and a little into the woods. It was completely hidden from view of the house, but it had electricity and, during the summer anyways, it had running water.

Igneel had restored the house for the kids to have some place safe to play and where they were near help if they ever needed it. The kids still used it as a hangout spot, though that had slowed down a bit the past couple of years, something told Natsu that it would pick up again this summer. Soon everyone had collected all the items on Natsu's list and so they headed out to their clubhouse. Lucy could hear them coming and hid in the small former bedroom that was off the main area.

Once Erza, Jellal and Gray had set down the items they were carrying, Erza looked around and asked "Where should we start?" "How about right here?" asked Lucy shyly, stepping out of the small room. Her three friends stared at her, Jellal going "Holy crap, Lucy, is that you!?" At a nod from the blonde, the three ran up to give her a hug, Natsu and Lucy grinning at their reactions. "What are you doing here? How long are you here for? How have you been?" They all started asking her questions at once.

Lucy laughed before explain everything the way she had to Natsu and ending with "And how have I been? I've been better, but honestly seeing you guys is really cheering me up." They all smiled at her and this time there was a group hug with Natsu included. "So let's get this place fixed up for Lucy!" Natsu declared. "Aye sir!" The others all answered before setting to work, chatting with Lucy and getting her caught up with their lives and vice versa.

Jellal and Erza were dating now and they started teasing Gray about a girl named Juvia that Natsu had mentioned in his letters, when suddenly Jellal said "Wait, what about when they others want to come out here, like Juvia or Lisanna?" The others paused, they hadn't thought of this. Lucy shrugged and said "We'll just have to hope they will be willing to keep my secret. Even if they don't, just getting to see you guys in person after so long…" she had to stop because the tears were coming back.

Erza put her arm around Lucy's shoulders as she said "We'll make sure they keep their mouths shut, or they will suffer the consequences!" Lucy smiled at her friend, knowing she was being overly dramatic to raise her spirits. She pasted on a smile for the rest of her visit with them though, as the thought of possibly having to leave before summer was over saddened her. Natsu noticed this and stayed behind. They may not have seen each other in nine years, but he could still read her like a book. "What's the matter Lucy?" he asked softly, earning a look of surprise from her, before a real smile filled her face.

"Never could keep anything from you, could I? It's just… I've been really lonely these past three years. My only two friends at boarding school were allowed to go to regular school for their high school years and I just haven't been able to make any new friends since then. The only people I see when I'm with my grandparents are friends of theirs and occasionally relatives of those friends that are my age, but nobody that I ever got close to. The thought of being caught and sent away before I'm ready is… overwhelming." Lucy explained.

Natsu pulled her into hug, basically repeating Erza as he said with a serious expression on his face "We'll make sure they keep your secret Lucy. None of us want to say goodbye again, let alone after too short of a time." Lucy grinned and said "Thanks Natsu, now are you sure your parents won't notice that the mattresses are missing from their RV? I mean I love that I have an actual place to lie down on, but the couch will do if you feel like you are going to get in trouble." Natsu returned her grin and said, "I'm sure. They never use it accept during Thanksgiving vacation when we go on our family trip, we'll have them back in there long before hand."

Giving Lucy one more hug, he handed her a small pre-paid phone. "I put all of our numbers in there in case you ever feel nervous about something and you can't get ahold of one of us, you should be able to reach somebody. I have to go, my family will be back soon, but I'll come see you again tomorrow." "Thank you Natsu, for everything." Lucy said happily. Natsu's grin widened as he said "You're welcome Luce, what are friends for?" Then he disappeared into the darkening night.

**Answers to Reviews!**

**aliciacevbra: I know I sent you a message already, but I just wanted to say thanks again for the review and I'm glad you liked the first chapter! :D**

**FTAnt: I'm glad you love the stories and that the feels are coming through :D **

**Ushindeshi: I'm glad you liked the first chapter and I hope this one lived up to your expectations :D**

**FireShifter: I hope I live up to your expectations! I usually upload on Mon, Wed, and Fri, though there have been times were I was like oh crap I forgot to upload that and do it on another day (usually the next day that I publish on normally) :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Natsu had just gotten settled in his room when he heard the family car pull into the drive way. He sighed in relief "Phew, just in time Happy." He gave his cat a pat before heading out of his room to greet his family. Wendy was the first through the door, exclaimed "Natsu were home!" Natsu grinned and said "I can see that." "You should have come with us, it was fun." Zeref said, in an unusually good mood for him. Wendy leaned in and stage whispered, "He met a girl."

Zeref blushed and was about to defend himself, when Igneel and Grandeeney walked in, carrying the family's super with them. Natsu sniffed appreciatively, pizza, one of the major food groups in his opinion… he may have watched and read too much Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in his life. As the family sat down around the table for supper, Igneel asked "So what did you do today Natsu?" Natsu swallowed the bite in his mouth before saying "Gray, Erza, Jellal and I all fixed up the clubhouse for the summer."

"Oh I can't wait to go out there!" Wendy exclaimed, reminding Natsu that he needed to have a talk with his younger sister about keeping Lucy a secret. Zeref made a scoffing noise as he said "I can't believe you guys still go out there." Zeref was two years older and once he had reached high school he had declared himself too old for the clubhouse and hadn't been out there since. At least Natsu wouldn't have to worry about convincing Zeref not to talk, his older brother might just do it to irk Natsu.

"Sounds like you had a busy day today." Grandeeney said with a smile, passing out more slices of pizza to everyone. Natsu wondered if Lucy had anything to eat out at the clubhouse. Maybe if there was any pizza left he could sneak it there. In fact he endeavored to make sure that there would be some left by eating a few less than he normally would, crossing his fingers that Zeref and Wendy wouldn't want them. Grandeeney noticed that her son had eaten less than normal and asked "Are you feeling okay Natsu?"

Natsu gave her his signature grin and said "Yeah, just feeling a little tired, think I'll head to bed. If there's any pizza left, put it in the fridge and I'll have it for breakfast tomorrow!" Wendy covered her mouth as she said "I don't know how you can eat cold pizza." Natsu chuckled and said "It's good, you should try it again sometime, you might like it they fourth time around." "Not on your life!" Wendy declared, earning another chuckle from Natsu before he said goodnight to everyone.

XXX

As Igneel and Grandeeney prepared themselves for bed that night, Grandeeney asked "Do you think Natsu was really tired or was he hiding something?" "Oh he was definitely hiding something, but knowing Natsu he'll tell us what it is eventually. For now, let's let him think we don't expect a thing." Igneel replied. Grandeeney agreed, before climbing into her side of the bed and turning off the bed side light.

XXX

Natsu waited until he was sure everyone was asleep, than he grabbed the pizza and made a silent dash to the clubhouse. Opening the door he whispered, "Luce are you awake?" A sleepy voice replied "Just barely, what's up?" "I wasn't sure if you had food with you, so I brought the left over pizza my family had." Natsu whispered. "I didn't and I was just thinking how hungry I am, so thanks." Lucy said, walking out of the small bedroom where they had put the mattresses. Natsu sat down on the couch and offered up the box to her, which she took.

They didn't dare turn on a light at this hour, for even though it was hidden by the trees from the house, neither knew if there was any spot where the light could creep through. After taking a bite, Lucy sighed at the taste and said "Thanks Natsu, this hits the spot!" "I brought you a soda too, they are in my mini fridge so no one will notice if it's missing." Lucy paused in her eating and said "Won't they notice the pizza?"

Natsu shook his head, which Lucy could barely see, and said "Nah, they think I'm having it for breakfast. If anyone notices that it's gone before then I'll just say I got hungry during the night and got up and ate it." As Lucy finished the last slice, Natsu took the box from her hands and said "I'll take this back with me so they won't wonder where it is. Night Luce." "Night Natsu, thanks again for the meal."

XXX

The next morning, Lucy woke to voices, none of which were Natsu or the others! "Wow they sure did a good job fixing up the place, right Romeo?" a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. "They sure did Wendy. We'll have to come back later when we have time to hang out!" said who she presumed was Romeo. She listened to the front door open and shut before sighing in relief, that was too close. Wait Wendy? As in Natsu's little sister? Wow it really had been a long time since she had seen everyone.

XXX

Natsu woke from a dream, which was more of a memory. It was of that that finally game of tag they all had shared, the last time he had seen Lucy really happy and not just fleeting moments here and there. He wandered into the kitchen for breakfast and found everyone there, including Wendy's boyfriend Romeo. "The pizza isn't in the fridge Natsu, did you put it someplace else?" asked Grandeeney. "I got hungry in the night and so I got up and ate it. I put the box with the trash." Natsu said as he settled in front of a bowl of cereal she had just poured for him.

"Natsu, Romeo and I just checked out the clubhouse, you guys did fantastic!" Wendy declared. Natsu found it hard to breathe for a moment, mainly because he had swallowed wrong, but after he caught his breath he said "Thanks Wendy, I'm glad you liked it. You know I was going to run into town for snack supplies to keep out there, would you and Romeo like to join me?" Wendy exchanged a glance with Romeo before saying "That would be great!" Natsu grinned and said "Good, you guys can tell me what you want to eat than. I'm going to run out to the clubhouse and make sure we remembered to plug the fridge back in, but then I'll be back."

Rushing out the back door, Natsu hurried to the cottage. Once entering he whispered "Luce?" "I'm here Natsu, I had a close call with Wendy and Romeo earlier, but thankfully they stayed in the main room. What's up?" Lucy said, walking out of the bathroom. "I came to get a list of foods you would like, but make it quick, I said I was just coming to check to be sure the fridge was plugged in, which it is." Natsu said as he checked it. Lucy quickly scribbled some things down but said as she handed the list to him, I'm not too picky really and if you get something I don't like I'll just let you guys eat it."

"Okay." Natsu said with a grin, "I'm telling Wendy and Romeo about you, they like to come to the clubhouse often, as you can tell." Lucy laughed and said "Well I don't think I could have told you they come often by just one visit, but I get what you mean." Natsu grinned as he ran out the door, saying goodbye as he did so.

Once in the car and a ways down the road, Natsu glanced in the rearview mirror, since Wendy and Romeo wanted to sit together, "Can you two keep a secret?" His tone was serious, so Wendy knew not to tease him and so she responded "Of course, what is it?" "Lucy came home to visit, but her dad doesn't know so she doesn't want our parents to know, so she is staying in the clubhouse for the summer while she is here." Natsu said, glancing once more before the light turned green and gave his full attention to the road.

"Really, Lucy came home! I haven't seen her since I was six, I barely remember her, but I do remember her smile." Wendy exclaimed happily. Natsu sighed and said "Well your probably remembering before her mom died, when you were about five, Lucy's smile hasn't really been a common sight since then." "Sounds like she needs help reclaiming it than." Romeo said simply, to which Natsu grinned and said "I think a summer surrounded by friends is just the thing she needs. From what I can tell, she hasn't really had anyone to hang out with for the past three years, her school friends started going to public school than."

Tears pooled in Wendy's eyes as she said "That's so sad." "Yeah it is. Anyways, the main reason for the food run today is to get things for Luce to eat there, that's really where the leftover pizza went last night." Wendy grinned and said "I had a feeling you had a reason for not eating as much as usual. One of the days when Mom and Dad are gone we'll have to order a hot one just for her." Natsu grinned at his sister's enthusiasm. Now if they could only get the rest of the people who used the clubhouse to agree to keep Lucy's secret, this could be the best summer ever!

**Answers to Reviews!**

**FireShifter: lol yeah rich kids club house XD I'm glad you liked Jellal's inclusion :D Hope this chapter was just as good to you :D**

**FTAnt: Glad you love it!**

**Ushindeshi: I hope I continue to meet and surpass your expectations!**


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a week since Lucy had arrived in Magnolia and so far only her close group of friends and Wendy and Romeo had been the ones to come out to the clubhouse. That was all to change today, for Lisanna, Gajeel and Juvia had all heard about the clubhouse being done and wanted to come out to see it. Lisanna's sibling Mira and Elfman wanted to come too, but there jobs wouldn't let them do so until the weekend. Of course the three didn't tell the others they were planning to stop in, but luckily Lucy was in the barely used upstairs, looking out the window and so she saw them coming.

She hid and sent and a quick text to Natsu saying that there were three people at the clubhouse that she didn't know. Natsu was at his house, so he quickly appeared, acting like he was bringing something out to the clubhouse to store it. "Oh hey Lisanna, Gajeel, Juvia, what brings you guys here?" Lucy could hear his voice from upstairs. "We heard you guys had fixed up the clubhouse, how come you didn't invite us out here?" asked Lisanna teasingly.

"Well that's because an old friend of ours stopped by and we got to catching up with them." Natsu said, Lucy could practically hear the grin in his voice. "Was it the Lucy that Gray talks about so much?" Juvia asked. "As a matter a fact, it was." Natsu said, to which Gajeel replied "I thought you hadn't seen her in years? How come she was here this year?" Lucy chose that moment to come down the stairs. "Because I couldn't bear to be parted from my friends anymore." She said, earning surprised looks from the three.

"Forgive them for not telling you sooner, you see, I'm here without my father's knowledge and they've been busy trying to get me set up here for the summer so we can finally hang out again, as well as keep me a secret from their parents." Lucy said with a sad, soft smile. "Why can't their parents know?" Lisanna asked. "They all know my father and whether on purpose or by accident they might tell him I'm here. I don't want to go back to my grandparents or the school just yet. I don't have any friends at either place anymore, my two friends left school for public school at the start of high school. I've just been lonely for people my own age. Please, don't tell anyone I'm here." Lucy finished, pleading her case to these strangers to her.

"Of course we'll keep your secret, I know how hard it is to be lonely." Juvia said, "Who else knows you're here?" "Thank you. Just Natsu, Gray, Erza, Jellal, Wendy and Romeo know and of course now you three." Lucy answered, tears of happiness falling down her cheeks. Natsu and Lucy spent the rest of the afternoon with Juvia, Gajeel and Lisanna, Gray joining them later once he heard Juvia was there. As the others were leaving, Lucy grabbed Natsu's arm and said "Hey Natsu, do you know if your parents are going to be gone anytime soon? I want to invite Levy and Yukino out so you all can meet them, but I'm not sure how we would explain them to your parents."

Natsu chuckled and said "Good point. As a matter of fact, this weekend Dad has a business trip and Mom is going with him. Zeref has been hanging out with a girl he met recently called Mavis, so we shouldn't have any trouble slipping them by him. Maybe they could park their cars at a camping place so that if anyone comes home early or whatever they don't question them being there." "Good idea! Okay, I'll send them a text on my phone inviting them and explaining things, thanks for getting me that pre-paid phone by the way." Lucy said with a smile.

"Not a problem." Natsu said, returning her smile with one of his own. With that they said goodnight to each other and Lucy hurried off to invite her friends. It was going to be a fun weekend, that's for sure.

XXX

The rest of the week passed quickly and before Natsu knew it, he was waving goodbye to his parents, Zeref having left early that morning. He sent a quick message to Gray that it was okay to bring the girls over before heading to the already packed clubhouse with Wendy and Romeo. Elfman and Mira had been brought into the secret just that day and besides Gray, Yukino and Levy everyone was there. "Natsu, you're here!" Lucy exclaimed from across the room where she sat with the Strauss siblings.

Natsu grinned and said "Gray should be here any minute with Yukino and Levy, I can't wait to meet them." "And I can't wait for all of you to meet them and them you! This is going to be a fantastic weekend." Shortly thereafter, Gray walked through the door followed by Levy and Yukino, both of which joined Lucy in squealing in delight at seeing each other once more. Once that was done, Lucy made the introductions.

Nobody missed the looks that Levy and Gajeel gave each other, an instant attraction sprouting up between the two. "Let's get this party started!" Natsu exclaimed, and everyone started to mingle, chatting like they were old friends. It was a long day of fun and games, Lucy was the happiest she had ever been, at least since her mom died. All of her friends were in one place, what more could she ask for? Well besides being able to come home and stay for her last year of high school.

As the sky darkened, Lucy slipped out to watch the first of the stars shine through the fading light. Natsu came behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. What to many would be a very romantic position only was a comfort to Lucy, it drove home that, for now at least, she wasn't alone. Little by little all of their friends joined them outside, all exclaiming as they watched a star shoot across the sky.

Turning off all the lights indoors and because of the isolation Natsu's family home and therefore the clubhouse had, all gazed in awe at the multitude of stars they could see. Lucy said, without taking her eyes of the sky, "Do you guys remember what my mom taught us?" Though it was only her childhood friends that would understand, nobody felt left out as the five friends started pointing out different constellations together. All too soon their friends who lived in town had to start saying goodbye, until finally it was just Lucy, Yukino, Levy, Natsu and Wendy who remained.

"Wendy and I should really be getting home now too. Zeref isn't home yet, unless he just hasn't turned on the lights, so we can avoid having to talk to him about where we were if we go now." Natsu said reluctantly. Two weeks had already passed since Lucy had arrived, which meant there were only six more weeks of getting to see Lucy. "Okay, see you both tomorrow!" Lucy said with a smile, before the two siblings said their goodbyes and left.

After they had done so, Levy said "You seem so much happier since I dropped you off here Lu, it makes me happy to see you smiling so much!" "I agree, you've smiled more in just the hours we've been here then you ever did when we were in school together." Yukino added. Lucy smiled at them, but it slipped off her face with a sigh as she said "Being around my friends again is amazing, but then I start thinking about how short of a time I have left before I have to go back to school… I want to stay here and finish high school with them! I don't want to go back."

As she spoke, tears slipped down her face, in reply to which her friends pulled her into a hug. Yukino and Levy shared a look, one of determination to help their friend get her wish. The question is, how?

**Answers to Reviews!**

**Ushindeshi: glad to hear it :D**

**FireShifter: Thanks! Hehe we'll have to see how that works out right ;) **


	5. Chapter 5

The weekend with Levy and Yukino was amazing! Levy even got Gajeel's phone number, looks like one of Lucy's new friends and one of Natsu's would soon be a couple if things kept moving the way they were. The weekend had gone by way too fast for Lucy and she was sad to see her friends go, but she promised to tell them if another chance for them to come visit in the remaining six weeks were to happen.

There was only one bad thing about this summer and that was she felt stuck in the clubhouse. Going out, there was a chance that someone who knew her dad would see her and tell him where she was. Erza came up with a solution for that one day, after being told by her friend how she wished she could go out. Erza showed up alone, early one morning and said "Here, I got you some hair dye in multiple colors that will wash out in just a few washes. Pick a color and go dye your hair, then we'll meet the others in town. This time we'll surprise Natsu with you being out and about."

Lucy quickly hugged Erza before grabbing a box of hair color and heading for the bathroom. An hour later, her hair dyed, washed and dried and changed into some clean clothes, the two friends headed to the town park where Erza had told their whole group of friends to meet them. Erza waved at their friends, who seemed to be the only ones in the part at this hour and Juvia said "Oh Erza, who is that with you?"

Before either Erza or Lucy could reply, Natsu with his eyes wide and said "Luce, is that you? You look totally different!" Taking a second look everyone saw that Natsu was right, it was just Lucy had green hair now. "It's me Natsu, Erza brought some hair color over so I could come out and join you guys." Lucy said with a smile. "The hair really sells it, but we should call you something else while we're out so people don't take a second look." Said Gray.

Natsu looked excited and was about to say something when Lisanna cut him off, "No Natsu, we can't call her Freed just because she has green hair." As Natsu pouted, the others laughed at his expression, as Lucy said "I remember Freed, he was a little older then us." "Yeah, he likes to hang out with that bully Laxus." Muttered Natsu. "Hey, Laxus isn't a bully anymore, remember?" Jellal pointed out to him. "I remember Laxus too." Lucy said grimly, "Has he really changed?"

"Yeah, he settled down and started acting normal in high school. Now there's talk that Gramps may hand the family business over to him." Gajeel spoke up. "I remember Gramps' candy store! There's a place I would love to see again." Lucy said nostalgically. Natsu grinned and said "So let's go! Gramps would be the perfect one to test your disguise out on Luce!" "We still need another name to call her before we go anywhere." Elfman said.

"What about calling her Titania?" asked Mira. "I feel like that name belongs to someone else for some reason." Lucy replied. "I know, let's call you Luna! That way if we start to say your real name, we can cover better, plus Luna being the moon and all that ties into your love of the stars!" Natsu declared. "Luna, huh? I like it." Lucy said with a smile. "Luna it is then." Erza declared, "Now onto the candy store!"

The friends all laughed and chatted on their way to the candy store before opening the door to a place that, in Lucy's mind, hadn't changed since she was a kid. Well scratch that, there was a little bakery section in it now that served delicious cakes, which Erza was making a beeline to, but other than that, the displays and candies offered hadn't changed one bit. "Hey Gramps, how you doing?" Natsu asked cheerfully.

"Natsu you brat, staying out of trouble I hope." Makarov muttered. "Of course." Natsu said with a grin, "Gramps, I'd like you to meet Luna." "Hello." Lucy said with a friendly smile, one that melted into an unsure one as Makarov stared her down. Just as she was beginning to think her disguise wasn't going to work, Makarov sat back with smile, for he was sitting on the counter like he almost always did, and said "Pleased to meet you Luna."

It was all everyone could do not to sigh in relief. Soon they were all making selections from Makarov's many offerings, Lucy grabbing some of her old favorites. She was the last to check out and her friends had walked outside to wait for her. As she was about to leave, Makarov said "I don't know why you are trying to disguise yourself, I'm assuming it has something to do with your Dad, probably doesn't know you're here, but don't worry he won't hear it from me. It's good to see you again Lucy, we've all missed you here."

Lucy's eyes teared up and she pulled him into an unexpected hug. Pulling back and away she asked nervously "You don't think anyone else will see through my disguise do you?" "I doubt it, you've grown up so much since we all saw you last, not to mention the change of hair color. No, I think the only reason I did start to suspect something was because I always considered you like one of my children, all of you kids." Lucy smiled and then asked "So what gave me away?" "Truthfully? Since I was suspecting you I paid attention to your purchases. I remember how much you loved the Moon Pies and star candies and to see both on the counter in front of you, well that sold it for me."

Lucy laughed, gave Makarov one last hug, before joining the others outside. Natsu was popping a Fireball into his mouth as she came out, but he pushed it into one side of his face as he asked "What took you so long Lucy?" "Oh Gramps figured it out." Everyone nearly spat out or choked on the food they had in their mouths, causing Lucy to giggle and said "Don't worry, he said he would keep a secret." She told them what he had told her and they all laughed that Gramps had figured it out from their purchases, though they all felt happy at the thought of Makarov feeling like they were part of his family. The old man was dear to them all.

They went to many other places that day, ate out at a couple of places for both food and ice cream and went to a movie. It was the best day of the summer yet, well second best after the one where she got to see Levy and Yukino again. If they got to visit again, Lucy couldn't wait to take them everywhere, especially to meet Makarov. Late that night, however, she had another adventure.

XXX

She was sound asleep when she heard a voice softly whisper, "Hey Lucy, wake up." "What? Natsu?" Lucy said, coming slowly awake. Looking at the alarm clock Juvia had gifted her, she saw it was one in the morning. "What are you doing here so early?" she questioned with a yawn. Natsu just grinned and said "Want to go look for fairies?"

**Answers to Reviews!**

**Ushindeshi: Thanks!**

**FireShifter: I'm glad you liked the last chapter :D**

**FTAnt: Aww thanks (less than 3) I can't wait for more to be seen and I hope you continue to enjoy it! The first part of the next chapter was one of my favorite parts of this story to write :D**

**Rory Dragoneel: I'm so glad you love this story :D Don't worry, more Nalu is coming (I'm actually just finishing up writing this story, so I'm several chapters ahead of you, lol, but I promise more Nalu is coming!) Natsu and Lisanna are just friends in this story :D I post new chapters every Mon, Wed and Fri, unless something comes up in the real world that stops me or I have a brain fart and forget what day it is XD**


	6. Chapter 6

"What?" Lucy asked, not sure she had heard her friend right. "Want to go look for fairies?" Natsu asked again, his grin getting wider. His enthusiasm was contagious, for she found herself saying "Just let me get dressed real quick." Natsu closed the door he was standing in, waiting for Lucy on the other side. Lucy pulled on the clothes she had been wearing before going to bed and, just before leaving the room, she picked up the paper crown she always kept with her. For whatever reason, she couldn't help putting it on.

Natsu recognized it the moment he saw that and he said with awe "I can't believe you still have that!" "And I can't believe you remember it. It was the last one mom made for me, I always have it with me." Lucy said with a smile. "It's perfect for fairy hunting." Natsu said with a grin. Lucy giggled as he led her outside, both of their eyesight already adjusted to the darkness since Lucy never dared to turn on any lights when she was there alone.

Natsu led her away from both his house and the clubhouse she was staying in, deeper into the woods that surrounded it. Stopping behind a bush a few minutes later he whispered, "I think that we'll find some fairies right behind this bush." Lucy looked at him in confusion before asking "How can you be so sure Natsu?" "You'll see." Was his only answer as he grinned, before parting the bushes.

Hundreds upon hundreds of fireflies filled the small glen behind the bush, causing Lucy to gasp in awe and wonder. "It's amazing!" she finally whispered. Natsu's grin got wider as he held up a jar she hadn't realized he had been carrying and asked "Do you want to catch a few? You could use them as a source of light tonight." Lucy smiled and nodded, carefully taking the jar Natsu offered.

He had one of his own and soon they were both running from one side of the glen to the other, chasing after a particular lightning bug until they either caught it or lost sight of it, before moving onto the next. Finally they both had enough and they slowly walked back towards the clubhouse. "Thank you Natsu, for taking me to catch fairies." Lucy said with a tinge of laughter in her voice. Natsu chuckled and so "You're welcome Lucy, I'm glad we finally were able to do it."

They soon reached the clubhouse and though neither knew it, they both felt a slight urge to kiss the other good night. It was a good thing it was a dark night, it hid their blushes for neither thought the other could possibly feel the same way. They quickly said goodnight and as soon as Lucy was in her own little room she groaned and quietly said to herself "Where did that come from? Natsu's just a good friend, he could never feel that way about me anyways."

Little did she know that Natsu had a very similar train of thought as he walked slowly back to his window that night. A thought pattern that was cut off when he realized his bedroom light was on and his parents were inside it. He gulped and hoped the fireflies would be answer enough for his parents on where he went off to. His mother was the first to spot him as he climbed in through the window and she asked "Where have you been? We were starting to get worried about you and were thinking of checking the clubhouse to see if maybe you were having a sleepover there."

Natsu barely kept from showing his dismay at the thought of them going anywhere near the clubhouse, he would have to be extra cautious from now on if that was the first place they thought of looking. "Sorry, I went to catch fireflies in my special place and didn't realize how late it was getting." Natsu said. Igneel grinned knowingly as he said "Still planning on taking Lucy there to catch fairies are you?" "If she ever comes home." Natsu said sadly, "Why does her dad keep her away?"

Grandeeney sighed and said "Even back then she had a lot of her mother's features but on the latest picture I saw of her, one of the ones she sent you that you showed me, she is practically the spitting image of her mom. Jude never did get over Layla's death, I wish he could see just how much his daughter must be hurting to have basically lost both parents within a year of each other."

"Do you think he'll ever get over it? Erza, Jellal, Gray and I all miss her." Natsu asked. "I don't know son." Igneel said, "But why don't you tell Lucy that if her home isn't open to her when she's done with school, ours will be open to her." Natsu brightened up and said "Really?! I can't wait to tell her! I'll write her first thing in the morning. Wish she could go to school with us for the last year of high school though." Natsu didn't catch it, but Igneel and Grandeeney shared a quick, contemplative look with each other. Igneel chuckled and said "Get some sleep Natsu."

Natsu hugged his parents goodnight and turned off the light after they left the room, setting the jar of fireflies on his night stand next to his bed. For a long while, he just stared at them, too excited to sleep. Yeah it would be roughly nine, long, hard months of separation from each other, but after that Lucy could be around all the time! His last thought as he fell asleep was that maybe if she was around him all the time she would come to reciprocate his feelings that were starting to blossom.

**Answers to Reviews!**

**Ushindeshi: Yes I love Makarov and I really wanted to bring him into this story somehow 3**

**FTAnt: I'm glad you're liking the good feels :D Be prepared ;)**

**jaidenrutz: I'm glad you are loving it :D I do try to update every Mon, Wed and Fri, it helps that I had most of this story done before I started posting. Lol yeah people making Lisanna evil is not only overdone but annoying to me, I mean that's just not her to me. Hope this chapter pleased you!**


	7. Chapter 7

When Lucy woke the next morning she smiled at the jar full of bugs before taking them out to release them. Yesterday had marked the end of her third week there, that left five short weeks until she had to leave this place. She sighed heavily as she returned to the inside of the clubhouse to change. Hardly was she done when she heard Natsu calling out her name.

Entering the main room she found him catching his breath. "Natsu what is it?" she asked, worried that maybe she had been found out. "Wait until I tell you what my parents told me!" he said, finally able to breathe again. Once he had, she smiled and said "That's awesome! At least I know I won't have to stay with my grandparents. I mean I love them, but like I said before, there really isn't anyone my age around."

Natsu chuckled and said "Now I have to wait until you would have normally sent me a letter to tell them." Lucky chuckled and asked teasingly, "Can you keep it a secret that long." He stuck his tongue out before saying "Hey, I've kept your current whereabouts a secret, haven't I?" Lucy giggled and said "That you have. So where are we meeting the others today?" Natsu grinned and said "The beach! Come on!" Lucy laughed and said "Let me grab a bathing suit real quick first."

She ran into her room and shut the door, putting her suit on under her clothes. Then she joined Natsu who told her to make her way around his yard and he would sneak her into his car. She was just climbing into his passenger seat when Zeref called out "Natsu, wait up!" Natsu turned to see his brother, followed by his sister and girlfriend, coming towards him. "Wendy said you guys were going to the beach today, mind if we joined you."

"Ah sure, hop in Zeref and Mavis, right?" Natsu said awkwardly, earning a small giggle and nod from Mavis. As Zeref climbed in he noticed the girl in front of him and he said "Oh I didn't know Natsu had a passenger, who are you?" "That depends. How are you at keeping a secret?" Lucy asked without turning around. Mavis gasped and asked "Are you a spy?" Lucy giggled at the excitement in the other girl's voice, before turning around and saying "No, nothing exciting like that. My name is Lucy."

Zeref frowned in confusion before saying "I thought you were blonde? Or am I misremembering?" Lucy shook her head and said "I dyed it. Dad doesn't know I'm in town." Understanding filled Zeref's eyes as he finally said "Your secret is safe with us Lucy. I take it mom and dad don't know you're here? Otherwise I'm sure I would have heard of it by now." "Right and we want it to stay that way." Said Natsu as he slid the car into reverse, Wendy and himself having quietly climbed in while the three were talking. "We won't say a word." Mavis reassured him. "Thank you." Lucy said.

A surprise awaited Lucy at the beach, Levy and Yukino had come to join them. Natsu whispered in her ear "Gajeel invited Levy, though he also told her it was fine if Yukino came." Once introductions were made they all ran into the water where many games were played, the longest of which were the chicken fights with all the couples or almost couples pairing off, though Mirajane got on Elfman's shoulders and Lisanna on Yukino's, though poor Mirajane had it hard when they decided to do a game where they reversed who was on top.

After that particular game they all flopped on the beach, Natsu quickly falling into a catnap. Lucy noticing this motioned for Lisanna and Yukino to help her, since they were closest. She quickly started covering him with sand, which the other two joined in on. Everyone watched on with curiosity as the girls worked, for they didn't stop with just covering him, no Lucy also said they need to shape the sand. The ideas of a mermaid and an octopus were thrown out, but Lucy made the final decision, a dragon!

They quickly worked and everyone admired it, taking pictures of the work in progress. Erza later would make a collage of it with a start to finish, Natsu being asleep on the sand being the first image and the dragon, complete with fiery breath, his head barely visible in what was the mouth of the dragon and the girls who did it doing mock poses of running away from the fire to staring and pointing in awe.

Not to long after the last photo was snapped, Natsu awoke, feeling an odd pressure on his chest. He could barely move and so he yelled out "Hey, what gives!" Everyone laughed and Jellal said "Oh no, the dragon is awake! Run for your lives everyone!" Which everyone did as Natsu yelled at them to come back… well everyone but Lucy that is, she was laughing too hard to run. Natsu broke free from the sand suddenly and tackled her, causing her to shriek and the others to glance back.

They saw poor Lucy being tickled to death by the "dragon" so they rushed back to "help" her. It turned into one big tickle and chase game, ending with them all plopped once more on the sand as they gathered their breath, exhausted from the running and the laughing. Once they had caught their breath though, they decided that they should get something to eat. The good news was that all of their swim suits had dried by this time and Natsu was able to wipe all the sand off of him with ease, so the girls slipped their clothes on over their suits while the boys grabbed their shirts to throw on. Shoes in place, they walked to a nearby restaurant.

XXX

They returned to the clubhouse to hang out until it was time for Yukino and Levy to leave, they were only here for the day this time. Once those two left, everyone else started slowly dissipating until it was just the original friends and Juvia that remained. Lucy sighed and said "Today was fun. I'm glad you thought of this hair dye idea Erza." Erza smiled from her seat beside Jellal as she said "It's been great having you around Lucy, we've missed you."

"I've missed you guys too and it's been great putting names to faces like Juvia. I heard so much about you in Natsu's letters that it was like I already knew you once I arrived here." "We heard so much about you too Lucy, I can see why your friends never could forget you, you are special." Juvia replied. Lucy blushed at the compliment before asking "Who wants to go look at stars?" The others looked out the window, surprised to see it was already dark. "I guess we could for a little while, though we better text our parents to let them know what's up."

"I've got an even better idea, let's all have a sleepover here!" Natsu proclaimed. "Do you think your parents will let you?" asked Lucy, the hope evident in her voice. "Sure, we do it every year at least once just like when we were kids, I think they knew it was one way for us to keep you close." Jellal answered with a shrug. "We all keep a change of clothes in Natsu's house and you and Juvia are about the same size so maybe she could borrow something of yours." Erza suggested.

"Sure, let me grab another pair of my PJs Juvia while you ask your parents if it's okay." Lucy said, leaving the room while everyone messaged and got the ok from their parents to do so. Soon everyone had gotten the okay from their parents and they all went to get their PJs from Natsu's house, minus Lucy and Juvia who changed into their PJs at the clubhouse and made snacks by the time the others returned. Long into the night there was laughter, dancing, singing, games, anything to make the time stretch a little longer.

The next morning the boys, who had slept in the main room, were awoken by a gentle knock at the door before it swung open. "Morning sleepyheads, I made you some breakfast type snack foods." Grandeeney said as she entered the clubhouse. Erza had awoken at the knocking and became fully awake knowing Grandeeney was in the clubhouse. She quickly awoke Lucy, covering the other girl's mouth to keep her from being too loud.

Erza didn't have to explain, Lucy could hear Grandeeney in the other room. Juvia was awaken by Erza lunging over her to wake up Lucy and realized the situation they were in. There was no closet or other place to hide in this room. Juvia pointed to the window and the other two nodded, rushing quietly over to it. They had left it open the night before so it was a matter of popping out the screen and getting Lucy through it.

Not a second to soon was Lucy hidden beneath the sill, the screen haphazardly thrown into place, for Grandeeney entered the girl's room to give them snacks. "Morning girls, here are your snacks." Neither girl noticed Grandeeney's eyes falling onto Lucy's bag, spotting a familiar keychain she had helped her son buy when he was younger. She said nothing however, but now she knew why Natsu had been happier this summer than he had been in a while. He hadn't been depressed or anything like that, but he had always missed Lucy and you could tell that not all of him was there.

Grandeeney left soon after, letting Lucy come from wherever she was hiding to join the others. She would tell Igneel, maybe, depending on how he answered questions or comments she would make, but Lucy didn't want them to know she was here for a reason and Grandeeney hoped she would tell them herself when she was ready.

**Answers to Reviews!**

**Ushindeshi: I'm glad you liked them catching fairies :D**

**jaidenrutz: I'm glad you loved the last chapter. And you're welcome, it makes me so happy that you are enjoying it!**

**FTAnt: I'm glad you loved the last chapter :D**


	8. Chapter 8

The others had just left from the sleepover, including Natsu when he quickly returned his face flushed. "Natsu what is it?" Lucy asked, something about his face worrying her. "Your dad is at my house and he knows your missing! Apparently my dad called him about you coming to stay with us now and he called the set of grandparents you were supposed to be at, but they said you were with the other set and then he called them and found out you weren't there and now he is here!"

Lucy put her hands over her mouth, she hadn't wanted to make her dad worry, that's why she had been sure to make both grandparents think she was with the others. "I've got to get back before they notice I'm gone, but I had to tell you Luce." Natsu said. He gave her quick hug as he said "It will be alright." before running out the door. Once he was gone she started thinking, she had to keep him from finding out she was here, he would think Grandeeney and Igneel had known all along and he would get mad at them, maybe even press charges against them or something.

No, she couldn't let that happen. She would go to either Levy or Yukino's and call her father from there, letting him know she was okay and where she was. Lucy quickly threw her scattered clothes into her bag and grabbed her phone Natsu had given her, though she turned it off for now. Then she exited through the back door and headed into the woods, she knew the highway was behind them someway and when she got to them she would call one of her friends to have them come pick her up. She sighed to herself as she ran "Looks like my summer vacation is over."

XXX

A few hours had passed since Jude had been and gone. Grandeeney had not let him know about Lucy, he was too angry in the moment and while she knew it was from fear, she was worried he would say something that would totally ruin what little was left of the relationship the father and daughter had. She had noticed Natsu sneak out but hadn't said anything to him about it. He was passing a back window when she saw him halt suddenly and then yell, "There's smoke coming from the clubhouse!"

Grandeeney barely had time to comprehend what he had just said when he was already gone, Igneel calling after him "Natsu, there's nothing in there worth your life!" One of Grandeeney's hands raised to her lips as she gasped and stuttered "There just might be. Igneel call the fire department!" Igneel gave Grandeeney a strange look as she moved to follow Natsu, going himself to do as she said.

She caught up with her son and said "She must have gotten out Natsu." Natsu almost stopped running, before he shouted his surprise "You knew?!" "Only since this morning. Where would she be in there? Upstairs?" Natsu shook his head and said "No, she would be downstairs, either in the main area or the small bedroom." She nodded, joining her son as he rushed inside, since they didn't see her outside.

They both pulled their shirts up to cover their nose and mouth as Natsu yelled, "Lucy!" as he made his way to the tiny bedroom. Grandeeney saw the source of the flames, someone had left the stove burner on and something must have blown on top of it. The flames hadn't gotten very far, but the smoke sure had. She grabbed the extinguisher and put it out before joining Natsu in his search for Lucy.

She hadn't gotten far however, when he grabbed her arm and led her outside. Once they were out and could breathe again somewhat, he said "She's gone, her bag and clothes, everything accept for this." He held up a paper crown which he handed to his mother, which she took carefully. "Keep it safe, it was one her mom made her." Natsu said. Grandeeney looked up quickly and asked "Where are you going?"

"After Lucy. She must have gone out the back door after I told her about her dad, she probably thought he would be mad at you guys if he knew she was here. She'll be going to one of her school friends probably, but she'll have to have them pick her up and that means she'll head towards the highway, but she has a terrible sense of direction. Hopefully I can find her before she gets too lost." Natsu said as he started around the house.

"Do you have your phone?" Grandeeney called after him, barely hearing his yes as he disappeared around the corner. By this time the sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance and she could see Igneel heading her way. She sighed, knowing she had some explaining to do for her husband, hopefully she could tell him everything before the firefighters arrived.

**Answers to Reviews!**

**Ushindeshi: Thanks for the review on the last chapter. Things may have taken a different turn ;)**

**FTAnt: I'm glad that you are finding the story to be fun! Less than 3 back at you!**

**gleamqueen: Aww thank you so much, your review made my day! I hope you enjoy this chapter :D**


	9. Chapter 9

Lucy didn't exactly run through the forest, but she wasn't moving slowly either. After a while she muttered, "I should have at least reached that clearing Natsu took me to to catch fireflies by now." Then she groaned to herself and said out loud "Don't tell me I'm lost already! I can't get lost now, I need to get to Levy or Yukino's and let my dad know I'm okay!"

She wasn't watching where she was going and she tripped on a rock, causing her to stumble over a steep embankment into a ravine, the kind you don't want to be in during a flash flood. Groaning once more, she tried to get back on her feet only to realize she had either sprained or broken her ankle. Pain level said sprain, but she wouldn't risk it. Pulling out her phone she turned it on, waiting for it to get to a part where she could make a call.

Lucy didn't even get a chance, as soon as her phone was fully powered on, a call was already coming in, from Natsu. "Natsu!" she exclaimed as she answered it. "Luce…are..u?" Natsu's voice came out broken over their connection. "What?" she asked, only to be met with nothing as the phone call disconnected. Looking at her bars, she saw she had none. Leaning one way she could barely get one, so she quickly took a picture of the area and sent a message saying that she had fallen into a ravine, that she had hurt her ankle.

Her arm was aching by the time the message finally sent, sighing as she provided her arm with relief as she finally lowered it. All she could do now was wait, so she pulled out her book to settle into doing just that.

XXX

When Natsu got her message he got a rough idea where she was, she had definitely gotten off track, but that wasn't what worried him. Lucy was injured and alone in a ravine and while no storms were forecasted for today, that didn't mean there couldn't be a freak storm or something. He took off at a brisk pace after trying to send his parents Lucy's message, but he didn't notice it didn't send.

XXX

Hours passed when Lucy finally heard a noise and looked up to the ravine's edge, happiness filling her as Natsu's face became visible over it. She threw her book in her bag as Natsu carefully climbed down as he asked "Are you okay Lucy?" "Besides my ankle I am." She said. Natsu finally reached the bottom and made his way to her side. After asking which ankle he gently and carefully prodded it. After a moment he said "I think it's a bad sprain, I'm going to splint it real quick."

Looking around he found a couple of branches from a fallen tree that would do and Lucy pulled some handkerchiefs from her bag for him to use to tie the sticks into place. Once he was done he said "You should stay off that as much as possible. I'm going to give you a piggyback ride out of here." "I can…." "No Luce, you could do more damage to your ankle if you walk on it. Don't worry, I can carry you no problem." He stopped her from arguing with him.

"Okay." Lucy said as he knelt down in front of her. Carefully he got her situated, but then he saw her bag still on the ground. He leaned over to pick it up as she protested "No Natsu, I'm already heavy enough for you." "Luce, you pack lighter than any girl I know, I can handle this bag and you." Lucy smiled against his back as he slung it over his shoulder, careful to do it on the side without the injured ankle on it.

He looked up to the ridge of the ravine. Much as he didn't want to be in here any longer than necessary, he knew that there was no way he was going to get back up there with Lucy on his back. So he started walking down the ravine, knowing it would level out with the rest of the ground eventually.

XXX

Meanwhile all of Lucy and Natsu's friends had gathered at his house, even Levy and Yukino had been summoned by their friends. When they reported they hadn't seen Lucy or Natsu on the highway, Grandeeney sighed and said "Looks like Natsu was right about Lucy getting lost." "I'm sure he'll find her mom." Zeref said, Mavis holding his hand tightly as she sat beside him. "I hope you're right, but maybe we should all join in the search." Grandeeney wondered aloud.

Just as everyone was going to agree with her, Igneel shook his head as he said "The cell service out there is spotty as it is and none of us explored those woods as much as Natsu did, he practically lived out there from the time that Lucy left to just before high school. If anyone can find her, it will be him. We go out there and we'll just end up being someone else for them to find."

"Them?" questioned Erza. "The forest service is looking for Lucy too. Like Natsu they know the lay of the land better than us, we'd just be a hindrance to them if we tried to help. Hard as it is, it's best for everyone if we just stay here to wait. Who knows, Natsu may be able to get a call out and we can relay any info that he may give us to them."

Hard as it was for everyone to admit it, they knew that Igneel was right. Grandeeney looked over at one of their guest who had been silent since he got there, Lucy's father. "You all knew, didn't you?" Jude whispered, his tone furious. "I didn't until Grandeeney told me after Natsu went looking for Lucy." Igneel said. "I found out just this morning, but when I saw you after discovering it, you were to angry Jude, I didn't want you to ruin any possible chance of ever getting along with your daughter." Grandeeney said softly.

"You had no right to keep her from me!" Jude exclaimed, his fear coming out as rage. Grandeeney knew this and therefore didn't take offense, though she had to wave her son and Natsu's friends to keep calm as she saw many of them ready to tear into him. "No, but I figured since she hadn't been around in many years and that she obviously didn't want you to know she was here just yet, what could be the harm in keeping you out of the loop until you had calmed down."

Before Jude could open his mouth again, Levy couldn't hold back anymore "She's been so lonely since Yukino and I left school, but even while we were there she kept saying how much she wished she could come home to her friends, to you, but you shut her out, how could you!?" Gajeel pulled her into a hug as she turned into his chest, sobs breaking loose from her. "We've missed Lucy since the day she left, our only way of being able to keep in touch with her was letters. Granted the only one who was great at keeping up with that was Natsu, but that didn't mean we missed her any less." Gray muttered.

"And I may have just met Lucy this summer, but she is a wonderful friend that I wished had been in my life longer." Lisanna added her own two bits. Jude sat in stunned silence. Yes he had been hurting with Layla's death and the obvious resemblance of mother and daughter had been hard on him, but if he was truthful he had missed his daughter. He hadn't realized that by keeping her away, however, that he was hurting anyone other than himself. He wondered than if his daughter had missed him as much as he had missed her.

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	10. Chapter 10

Natsu had never really explored this ravine before, or at least this part of it. He never realized how long it was and the walls were just as steep as where he had found Lucy. He had paused to rest a few times and of course carrying Lucy had already slowed his pace down somewhat, so with concern he looked up at the sky which was slowly starting to darken with the coming of the night.

He really didn't want to stay in the ravine if he could help it overnight, he wasn't sure what the weather would bring. So he kept on trudging, even after darkness descended, though Lucy could tell he was slowing down, almost overcome with exhaustion. "Natsu, you need to set me down while you still have the strength to do so." Lucy whispered in his ear. "I can keep going." Natsu panted back at her. "Yeah I can tell." Her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Seriously Natsu, put me down. I don't think we are getting out of here tonight."

Reluctantly Natsu obeyed his friend, setting her gently on the ground before flopping down next to her. He took in deep breaths as he lay flat on his back, only sitting up when Lucy offered him one of the water bottles she had grabbed, they had eaten the granola bars she had taken as well hours ago. "I don't think my text went through, my parents would have either have found us by now or sent help and the power in my cell died because it wasn't charged and I didn't turn it off to save power. How about yours?" Natsu said, looking up at the sky.

Lucy shook her head and said "I didn't think about it once I sent you the message. My battery is dead too." She looked up at the sky and suddenly she said "You know though, if you think you can go on for a bit longer and if we can find a way out of this ravine I might be able to guide us home using the stars." Hearing that gave Natsu his second wind and he said "I'm fired up now." Jumping to his feet, he helped Lucy to her good one and then onto his back.

He took off at a brisk pace, hoping that he could find a place he felt comfortable attempting to climb up with Lucy. Lucy didn't let him know, but from what she could tell, this ravine was just taking them farther away from home. Curse her bad luck from that fall! If she had the use of both of her legs they could have just climbed out, heck if she hadn't fallen, Natsu wouldn't have had to come out after her and she would have been with Levy or Yukino by now.

"I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble, Natsu. If I hadn't fallen you wouldn't have had to come out here." Lucy said into his shoulder. "I was already out here Luce, your sense of direction isn't the best you know, so I was worried you would get lost, which you did." Natsu said with a grin in his voice. "Hey, my sense of direction is great… if I can see the stars." They both laughed and then suddenly Lucy said "Look!"

Natsu followed her finger, what he could see of it, and saw a trail leading up the side of the ravine. He grinned and took it, finally realizing basically where they were. "Wow we really got off track didn't we? This is the national park a couple miles from home." "Yeah, I knew we were heading away from home as soon as the stars came out, but it couldn't be helped. At least we are finally out of that ravine." That was a big relief to Natsu too, at least if it rained they wouldn't have to worry about being washed away.

Lucy pointed him the right direction and he started walking, going for another hour before Lucy told him it was time to stop. "You are practically dead on your feet Natsu, we'll get home, but for now we need to stop." This time Natsu didn't try to argue, testament to how tired he was. She handed him the bottle of water again after he got her safely to the ground and had himself collapsed to it. She wished she had some food for him to eat, but she hadn't planned on being gone in the woods this long, maybe a couple of hours tops.

She thought Natsu had fallen asleep, as he had laid down on the ground after drinking some water and been quiet since then, but he proved her wrong by asking "Luce, why did you run?" Lucy sighed and said "I didn't want your parents to get in trouble. My dad would never believe I could be out in that clubhouse as long as I have without them knowing. I thought that if I could just get to highway I could have Levy or Yukino come get me and call him from there."

Natsu smiled, though she couldn't see it. He knew that Lucy would be worrying about something like that, well actually exactly like that. It was just how she was, even after all their years apart he would know that she was still like that even if they hadn't had these few weeks together. Lucy laid down flat on the ground at his continued silence and he frowned at the distance between them. "I know it will be awkward Luce, but we should probably lie down together to conserve body heat since you don't have any blankets with you. It may be summer, but it can get rather chilly at night here."

He couldn't see it, but he knew she was blushing. He waited until she quietly said "You're right." She sounded so timid that Natsu couldn't help but wonder, dare he say hope, that she might feel the same way about him as he did about her. He sighed to himself, yep this was going to be awkward, but it would also help keep Lucy safe if something decided to check them out while they were asleep.

So he carefully moved until he was next to her and pulled her into his arms. Lucy was stiff for a second but relaxed before saying, "Can you hand me my bag? I've got a hoodie in it that we can use for a blanket somewhat." Natsu handed the bag to her and she got it out, offering him one side to pull over himself as he laid on his side. Than they fell into a fitful sleep, neither quite comfortable with the ground as a bed or the fact that anyone or anything could sneak up on them, but the night would pass with no problems other than that.

XXX

Meanwhile, as the sky grew dark, their families and friends began to worry about them more and more. Soon the search was called off for the night by the searchers, they didn't have the man power to keep it going at all hours, but they would all be back in a few hours to start again. Everyone had tried both Natsu and Lucy's phones and were worried that neither of them rang, but went straight to voicemail. "Their phones are either dead or they have them off to conserve their power." Grandeeney said after she had tried again at one in the morning.

No one had gone home, their parents all understanding their need to be together and agreeing they could stay at the Dragneel's. Most of the room's occupants were asleep, leaning on each other's shoulders to support their heads, however the three adults were still up. "I thought you're boy knows that forest well? If he knows it so well, why haven't he and Lucy returned?!" Jude exclaimed, though he did keep his voice low so as not to wake those who were sleeping.

Neither Grandeeney or Igneel took offense at his tone, they were worried for Natsu too but he could take care of himself out there. Nobody knew if Lucy could or if he had found her, which Igneel pointed out by saying "He might still be looking for Lucy, it's a big forest out there or maybe she was further away than he anticipated and while he did find her they couldn't get home before dark or they grew tired and have stopped to rest. They will be fine Jude, either they will get here themselves or the forest service will find them and get them home."

Jude didn't look reassured, but made no further argument about it either. Grandeeney smiled at him sympathetically before saying "Why don't you go lie down in the guest room Jude? Igneel and I are going to head to bed, our bones can't take sleeping like the kids are, at least, not as well." Jude almost argued with her on that, but his body betrayed him by yawning, making him aware of just how exhausted he was. So he allowed himself to be shown to the room Grandeeney had mentioned before being bid goodnight.

He made his way over to the window without turning on the light and looked up at the stars before softly saying "Layla I hope you or someone up there is watching over our little girl tonight." After that, he turned and flopped on the bed, shoes and all before waiting for what seemed like hours for sleep to claim him.

XXX

In their own room, Grandeeney asked "Do you think of we pushed him for answers back when we first knew he was hiding something that this would have happened?" Igneel shook his head and said "No, at least not this way, though who can say for sure. Lucy probably still would have felt the need to run, but would they have been connected like they are now? I can't say, they've always been close even with the distance between them, but now…"

Grandeeney looked at him as she asked another question, "Even without seeing them together you too feel like they've grown much closer don't you?" Igneel nodded and said "If Jude sends Lucy away again, I don't think wild horses could keep Natsu here. He would go to wherever she was and they will disappear together. Jude needs to tread carefully or risk hurting so many others."

Grandeeney nodded in agreement with her husband before turning out the light and climbing into bed with him, both hoping that sleep would come and give them enough energy to make it through the next day and whatever it brought.

**Hey guys I have a poll going on my page that would be really helpful to me if you could take a look at it and vote for an option :D**

**Answers to Reviews!**

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**X3Rdragon: I'm so glad you loved the last chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Just because I didn't get any reviews on the last chapter and I know that this has happened before with fanfic, make sure you guys read the last chapter just in case they didn't send you a notification about it!**

The light of the sun was just starting to claim the sky the next morning, when Lucy woke up from her fitful sleep. In some ways, she wished she hadn't tried to sleep, for though she would feel tired fighting with herself to try to go to sleep and stay asleep had been exhausting on a totally different level. Natsu stirred beside her and sat up as well, looking just how she felt, a deep tired. But he turned to her and said "Let's get going. It will be less hot so I can go at a faster pace."

Lucy nodded as he helped her up. Now that he could see where the sun would soon peek out from it's slumber, Natsu knew which direction to head. Good thing too, since the stars that Lucy could have used were already fading in the sky. With Lucy once again secured on his back, he took off at a brisk pace, knowing it would be around noon before they got to his home at the earliest. He had been walking in silence for about an hour when he felt Lucy sigh against his back.

"What's up Luce?" he asked. "My dad is going to be at your house, isn't he." She said quietly. Natsu nodded as she continued "He's going to make me leave again." Natsu felt her tears starting to dampen his shirt and he squeezed her legs tighter, just like the feeling in his chest as he said "I won't let him do that Luce. You can stay with us, with me!" She laughed, though it was also a sob as she said "If only it was that simple."

"It can be!" Natsu said, "My parents were cool with you staying with us before all of this, maybe they still are!" "Your parents probably would be, but my dad probably thinks they were already purposely keeping me from him, he'll be so mad that he won't let me do that!" Lucy said, her tears leaving a dark stain on Natsu's shirt. Natsu thought about putting her down and pulling her into a hug, but his energy was already low and the thought of lowering only to lift again was a draining thought. No, much as he wanted to pull her into his arms and promise it would be okay, he had to keep moving.

Still, he did say "It will work out Luce, I promise." Lucy didn't respond and Natsu continued on once more. He wish he could comfort his friend, his very special to him friend, but he didn't know what else to do.

They were almost halfway to his house when he saw lots of men dressed in green and heard shouts of "We've found them!" They rushed to them and Natsu could see they were with the forest service. One of them took Lucy from his back, carrying her bridal style as another caught Natsu as he swayed on his feet. "Let's get them checked out! Let their families know that we found them!" The rest was a blur as they were carried out of the woods and eventually taken to the hospital.

No surprise, Natsu was dehydrated and exhausted, as was Lucy on top of her bad sprain. The doctor gave them a sedative to help them sleep and so they were by the time their family and friends arrived. "How are they?" asked Grandeeney. "A little worse for wear but they will be fine with some rest. Lucy's ankle will be in walking cast just to help it heal properly, but it just a badly sprained ankle, not a break." "Can we see them?" asked Jude.

"Not at the moment, I gave them a sedative so they are now resting. But once they wake up, we'll let you know." The doctor said. After a few more questions were asked they were left in the waiting room. "The forest service said they were almost home when they found them, wonder how far they were." Igneel said as he sat down. "Who knows, knowing Lucy she could have gotten pretty lost." Levy said. "Wonder how she sprained her ankle." Gray said, more thinking out loud than actually asking. Everyone soon fell into their own thoughts, waiting for the pair to awaken.

XXX

"Luce? Hey Luce, you awake?" Natsu whispered. Lucy moaned as she slowly opened her eyes and asked "Where are we?" "The hospital, remember they brought us here after the forest service found us." He replied. "Right." She whispered. She rolled towards him and asked "How are you doing Natsu?" He grinned and said "Fine, you?" She smiled and said "Same." Just than the door opened a nurse came in. Seeing them awake she said "Your company will be happy to know they can see you two now." "Company?" Lucy questioned.

She was soon answered by a chorus of hellos as her friends, Natsu's parents and… her dad!... all entered the room. Lucy watched him, somewhat nervously, as he held back while her friends bombarded Lucy and Natsu with hugs and questions of are you ok and what happened. Lucy gave her story, a little embarrassed to tell what had caused her to run, but doing so anyways and then listened as Natsu told his side of it, learning about the fire for the first time. Grandeeney said "Oh that reminds me, Natsu asked me to keep this safe for you, here you go Lucy."

Lucy's eyes widened as they fell on her crown. "I thought it was in my bag! Where did you find it?" Lucy asked, turning her head towards Natsu. "You had left it in the room. When I went looking for you in the fire, I saw it and grabbed it just in case the fire was bigger." Natsu said, somewhat embarrassed as he rubbed his head. "If I could reach you I would kiss you." Lucy said happily, not really thinking about what she was saying or her audience and definitely not how her words would have an effect on Natsu.

Natsu turned beat red, something that his friends all noticed but all decided not to mention, for Lucy's attention was on the crown and they could all practically feel the tension running between them, even though in their eyes their two friends were too dense to realize it. "The doctors want to keep you both here overnight for observation, but we'll come to get you in the morning." Igneel said. Everyone started filing out, visiting hours were almost over, but Jude held back.

When he was the last one in the room besides Natsu and Lucy he came to her bedside and said "I'm sorry Lucy, for everything. I promise, we'll talk about it all tomorrow." Lucy smiled up at him, tears in her eyes as she said "Okay dad. And I forgive you." He leaned down, kissing her forehead before saying goodnight and leaving. Natsu grinned at her from his own bed as he said "See Luce, I told you it would work out." Lucy returned his smile through her tears.

She closed her eyes, but just as she was about to fall asleep, Natsu whispered "Hey Luce?" "Yeah Natsu?" she questioned quietly back. "I was just… never mind, it can wait. Night Lucy." He stuttered, rolling over to face the other way. Lucy wondered what that was all about, but she didn't bother pressing him on it, she was too tired to really focus. In fact, she was asleep within a minute. Natsu, however, was up long into the night, his mind filled with so much he wanted to say and not knowing how to say it.

**I just want to say thank you to all those who follow and fav this story, it means a lot to me :D Also, if you haven't yet, there is a poll up on my page as I need help deciding which FT story that I am currently working on to upload first, so if you guys wouldn't mind voting that would be great :D**


	12. Chapter 12

Natsu woke up just as his parents were coming to collect him. Lucy's bed was already empty, Igneel and Grandeeney telling him that Jude had just left with her. Now that Lucy wasn't around to hear them, Natsu voiced his own doubts, "Do you think he is really going to let her stay now, mom and dad?" "I think he will, though not with us, but in her own home." Grandeeney spoke up, Igneel adding a nod of agreement as he added "We had a bit of a talk with him a few times over the past few days. I agree with your mom." Natsu sighed with relief, before moving to get ready with the clothes they had brought him.

XXX

On the car ride home, Jude awkwardly said "It's good to see you again Lucy." Lucy's eyes were almost immediately filled with tears as she said "I've missed you dad, and my friends, please don't send me away again." Jude looked over in shock, before turning to be sure the divider between them and the driver was closed, before saying "I never meant to keep you away this long. It's just... even at such a young age you looked like her and it hurt to see her face looking out of yours. School was only supposed to be for a year but then it just became easier not to deal with the pain…"

"But you didn't have to push me away! I needed you, I needed my friends, I need Caprico and the others, but you tore them all away from me! Please Dad, don't do it again! Let me stay with the Dragneel's or Levy or Yukino's families, but please, don't make me go back to that school away from everyone!" Lucy begged, her tears streaming freely down her face. Jude once again looked surprised before muttering, "I'm making a mess of this."

He scooted over to his daughter's side, pulling her into a hug and saying "I'm not going to send you away Lucy. You are home and here to stay." Lucy pulled back enough so she could see his face as she excitedly questioned "I can stay?!" Jude laughed and said "Yes, I won't send you back. I'll even send someone else to gather what's left of your things there." Lucy hugged her dad than she said "Don't tell the others, I want to surprise them." "Okay." Jude said with a smile.

XXX

As Natsu got home, he saw the limo leaving the Heartfilia household and his gut sank. Jude was sending Lucy away again and once again he wouldn't get to say goodbye! Natsu hopped back in the car, this time taking the driver's seat and sped off as his parents called after him. Then they spotted the limo and they knew what Natsu was up to, so they stood there, holding hands as they watched him go. Natsu frantically started beeping his horn to get Caprico's attention and it must have worked as the limo pulled over to the side of the road.

Natsu jumped out of the car, barely remembering to put it in park, and ran up as Caprico lowered the window and said "I need to talk to Lucy!" Before Caprico could respond, Virgo leaned forward and said "The princess isn't with us, she is at home resting." Natsu slumped against the side of the limo and said "I thought that... that she was leaving again without getting a chance to say goodbye." Caprico smiled compassionately as he answered "Not this time. Excuse us, we must be on our way."

Natsu nodded, watching the pair drive off. His heart ached, as he thought "Not this time Caprico said, that must me that Jude is sending her away again." With a heavy heart, he turned back to the vehicle and drove home, telling his parents he was going to go lie down for a while and therefore never hearing the phone ringing or any part of the conversation that took place.

XXX

After two days at home, the Dragneel's thought it was time to throw a party over the safe return of Lucy and Natsu. All of their friends were invited, the young and the old which meant Makarov was there too. In fact everyone was there except one of the special guest and her father. Everyone noticed Natsu's glum attitude and that made everyone worry that this was also a going away party. Finally Lucy and Jude arrived and neither showed any emotion on their faces, further solidifying the thought that this could be goodbye once more.

Lucy walked right up to Natsu and stood in front of him, using a crutch to keep the weight off her ankle. "Natsu." She whispered, "I'm staying." It took a moment for what she said to get through his emotional brain waves but when it did he practically exploded with happiness as he shouted "Really?!" Lucy could only nod before he swept her up into a huge bear hug, one that all of their friends quickly joined in as the adults watched with smiles on their faces.

Now they really felt like celebrating! After a while, Natsu took Lucy by the hand and led her just outside the backdoor, no one even noticing the guests of honor slip away. Lucy smiled and said "What is it Natsu." "Listen Luce, about what you said, about kissing me, in the hospital, would you be opposed to that?" he asked nervously. "What do you mean?" Lucy questioned, daring not to hope that this conversation was going where she wanted it too.

Natsu took a shaky breath and said "Luce, you've always been my best friend. Getting to spend time with you this summer, I realized just how much you mean to me. I don't know if you feel the same way, but I need to tell you that I love you Luce, I was so scared when I saw that smoke coming from the clubhouse…" He stopped as Lucy pulled him into a hug and whispered "I'm sorry I scared you Natsu. And yes, the same thing was happening with me this summer. I love you too, Natsu."

Natsu returned the hug with enthusiasm, pulling back enough to ask "Can I get that kiss now than?" Lucy laughed before nodding and the two shared a small, sweet kiss. As they ended it, they leaned their foreheads together as Lucy asked "Where do we go from here?" Natsu smiled softly and answered "Anywhere, after all, we're on the verge of the rest of our lives."

**And thus it ends!**

**Answers to Reviews!**

**FTAnt: I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter and Natsu being flustered in it XD Hope you enjoy this one as well :D**

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	13. Answer to Reviews!

**Fanfic is letting me respond to your reviews at the moment and since I wanted you all to know how much I appreciated them I had to make this response page up :D**

Ushindeshi: lol yep she can :D

jiann13: I'm glad you liked the story :D As for structure, fanfics are how I relax so I don't worry too much about making it look correct but rather on getting the feelings I want across, it's just how I am : )

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